(Recorder of Georgia) The first candidate to run for secretary of state is Covington Republican state representative Tim Fleming, who wants to succeed Brad Raffensperger as Georgia’s top election officer.
In a post on Facebook on Thursday, Fleming stated, “I took the necessary steps yesterday to formally begin preparing a campaign for Georgia Secretary of State.”
“I look forward to continuing meaningful conversations with Georgians across this great state about the challenges we face and the future we can build together with strong conservative leadership,” he said, adding that an official announcement will be made when the time is right.
The secretary of state is in charge of governing Georgia’s securities market, issuing business licenses for various professions, and supervising elections throughout the state. Following the 2020 presidential election, when Republican Raffensperger defied efforts from President Donald Trump to change Georgia’s election results in his favor, the position gained unprecedented notoriety.
The Republican-controlled State Legislature and State Election Board have attempted to deprive the office of authority in the years thereafter, first dismissing Raffensperger from his previous role as chair of the State Election Board and then removing him from the board entirely. Raffensperger has also been subject to sanctions from the Georgia GOP, which passed a resolution prohibiting him from running as a Republican in subsequent elections.The state secretary, Brad Raffensperger. (The Georgia Recorder/Ross Williams)
Since taking office as secretary of state in 2019, Raffensperger has not indicated if he plans to run for the position again in 2026. However, Fleming, a businessman and vocal president supporter, might be putting himself in a position to be a more Trump-friendly substitute. In 2022, Raffensperger defeated a rival supported by Trump.
Fleming, who was previously the chief of staff for Governor Brian Kemp, was first elected to represent Georgia House District 114 in 2022. Additionally, he was Georgia’s top election official from 2010 to 2018 as Kemp’s deputy secretary of state, according to his campaign website.
During his brief tenure in the General Assembly, Fleming has contributed to the development of election policy. He passed House Bill 1207 during his first term in the Legislature, which was originally intended to update local superintendents’ ballot proofing protocols. Later on, though, it was changed to incorporate provisions from Senate law 221, a contentious elections law that was not approved during the 2023 legislative session. The law, among other things, removed the need that polling stations maintain a voting machine ratio of one for every 250 voters, mandated that all election workers be citizens of the United States, and provided protections for poll monitors. In May 2024, the governor signed HB 1207 into law.
Fleming also introduced a contentious election bill earlier this year that, among other things, would limit voters’ ability to drop off absentee ballots on the last weekend before Election Day, expand poll-watching areas, and forbid Georgia from disclosing voter information to outside organizations like the Electronic Registration Information Center. Although the law made it through both chambers, it was not finalized before the Legislature adjourned.
Ahead of Georgia’s 2026 legislative session, he was also named to chair this year’s House Blue-Ribbon Study Committee on Election Procedures, which is tasked with assessing the state’s present election laws and making recommendations for new ones. On July 15, the study committee will meet for the first time in Atlanta.
